Vancouver, B.C., regulates illegal marijuana dispensaries: High anxiety from Canadian government

Vancouver, B.C., became the first Canadian city to regulate its proliferating, illegal marijuana dispensaries as its City Council voted Wednesday to slap them with a $30,000 licensing fee and restrictions on location.

What Mayor Gregor Robertson described as a “common sense measure” drew howls of outrage from Ottawa, where the Conservative Party government of Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper stands rigidly against any relaxation of marijuana laws in the Great White North.

Vancouver, B.C. Mayor Gregor Robertson: His city is the first in Canada to regulate illegal marijuana dispensaries, which has brought threats, imprecations and howls of outrage from Canada’s federal government.

Saying she was “deeply disappointed,” Canada Health Minister Rona Ambrose declared: “Storefronts selling marijuana are illegal and under this Conservative government will remain illegal. We expect the police will enforce the law.”

Cannabis may be illegal, but it is far and away British Columbia’s largest agricultural crop. Pot growers have helped sustain economies of such depressed timber towns as Grand Forks in south-central B.C.

By blocking reform of criminal laws, however, the Canadian government has allowed gangs to fight over the market — often with lethal results.

Former premiers, ex-B.C. attorneys general, Vancouver mayors present and past, and former police chiefs have signed letters urging reform of Canada’s drug laws. The Harper government has given them the cold shoulder, often with “Reefer Madness”-style rhetoric.

Vancouver Councilor Geoff Meggs wondered what planet — or at least what country — Rona Ambrose is living in.

“You are completely out of touch with the reality on the ground,” said Meggs. “The policies you are advocating are backward and destructive and have driven us to take the steps that are necessary here today.”

Vancouver has seen the number of its dispensaries climb from 20 to nearly 100 in two years. There are now more pot dispensaries in Vancouver than Starbucks outlets.

“We’re faced with a tough situation, a complicated situation. We have this proliferation of dispensaries that must be dealt with,” said Robertson.

Justin Trudeau, leader of Canada’s Liberal Party. He has advocated that Canada legalize marijuana, ending an illegal business that has put profits in the hands of gangs.

The Harper government has exploited the issue for political gain. Canada will hold a national election this fall. An opposition politician, Liberal Party Leader Justin Trudeau, has called for an end to marijuana prohibition.

Even as she denounced Vancouver’s action, Health Minister Ambrose delivered a screechy attack on Trudeau.

“Marijuana storefronts form part of Justin Trudeau’s plan to make smoking marijuana a normal, everyday activity and make it available in stores across Canada, just like alcohol and cigarettes,” Ambrose charged.

The dispensary regulations include a $30,000 licensing fee. So-called compassion clubs, selling marijuana to those suffering from chronic diseases, will be charged only $1,000.

Dispensaries must be located 300 meters (roughly 1,000 feet) away from schools, community pot shops and other dispensaries.